One Affordable Care Act Insurer Intends to Stay in Iowa

The health insurance company Medica has decided to sell individual plans on Iowa’s Affordable Care Act exchange in 2018. The announcement came Monday in a news release.

It’s likely Medica will be the only company selling individual ACA-compliant health insurance statewide in Iowa. It’s proposing to increase rates by an average of 43.5 percent.

"When you find yourself as the only ones between people getting access to care and people not getting access to care, your view of the situation becomes very different," Medica Vice President Geoff Bartsh said in a written statement.

Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield committed to re-entering the marketplace if the stopgap plan is approved by federal officials. Aetna says its decision to stop selling individual policies in Iowa under the ACA is final.

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